Doe-Eyes
by Spaghetti Arms
Summary: The story of a hard-working young man and the woman he thought was out of his hair forever Darry Curtis/OC
1. Chapter 1

"What are you doing out here? You think you're gonna play?"  
"Maybe I want to play. You got a problem with that?"  
"Maybe I do."  
"Who says I can't play, Darrel Curtis? You the captain of this team? Huh? You run this thing?"  
"Maureen, I can't let you play. No girls on the team, alright? Get off the field. You're distracting the guys."

I glared down at the girl in front of me, and she glared back, her doe-eyes like ice. Maureen was feisty. Stubborn. Horribly tempered. She wouldn't leave for anything, but I didn't have the time or patience to deal with her, and I needed to get her to get out of here.

"Maureen, you leave now. This is the last time I'm going to warn you. Go home."  
She smirked, running a hand through her hair. "What're you gonna do if I don't leave, Darrel?"  
"For God's sake, little mouse. Get off the field and go home."  
"'Little mouse'?!" She spat, her brow knitting furiously. "I am not a 'little mouse', Darrel. I am every bit as mighty as you and your big team of blockheads."

I snorted.

"You don't look too mighty."  
"I might surprise you one day, Darry."

Those last words came out with such venom that the phrase stuck with me for years to come.

* * *

It was sunny the day of Dally Winston's funeral.

Not many had attended. At first, it was just the gang - what was left of it, at least. Cherry Valance, the red-headed Soc girl my brother still dreams about showed, and Sylvia, the girl who two-timed Dally while he was locked up. Sylvia cried real tears today, and not one of us said a word of consolation.

Buck Merril came to the graveyard, along with Dally's other delinquent buddies that the gang knew of but never bothered with. A few girls came along with them. None of us could figure out who they were.

Everyone said their last respects to Dally, shoveling a bit of dirt over his coffin with each phrase. Flowers were placed by a few people onto his grave shortly afterwards. Some straggled off to visit the headstone of Johnny Cade, whose funeral had taken place earlier in the week. My brothers went off to see them. I almost followed until I caught sight of a girl lingering at Dally's headstone.

Something about her felt very...familiar. Maybe it was her hair, fluffy waves that were just a shade or two too dark to qualify for blonde. Maybe it was that the long black mourning dress she wore didn't seem to fit her quite right, showing that she wasn't nearly as full-figured as most girls I knew.

She turned as I neared her, and in a hoarse voice said,  
"Darry Curtis?"

It was Maureen Hawley, the biggest pain in the rear end I had ever dealt with. I hadn't seen her since I was a junior in high school. But, that's why I recognized the hair. None of the other girls in our class, the class of 1964, had a color like it. But when had she lost so much weight? Sure, she was slim back when we were in school. Maureen had practically looked like a boy next to our curvy female classmates. She was never this thin, though. Her face was never this drawn, her arms never this bony.

"What'cha doin' here, Maureen?"

She stared at me, nibbling her lip nervously. "Dallas - Dally, I mean - was my cousin. His mom sent him down to Tulsa to stay with us. Reform, or somethin'. He didn't stay at our house, nothin' like that, but he did stick to our family sometimes. Sometimes. We used to play together, Dally and me. We used to play..."

Those doe-eyes got real sad and I couldn't help but look away from her.

"You been doin' alright, Darry? How's your brother been? Sodapop, the handsome boy? How's he been? He still in school?"  
I tried hard to not focus on her big, sad eyes. "I'm alright. Sodapop dropped out, works at the gas station. You never see him down there?"  
"Don't have a car to put gas in."

For some reason, I couldn't seem to quit fidgeting. Clasping and unclasping my hands. Tapping my feet. She picked at the frayed hem of her long sleeves before either of us spoke again.

"Where did you go, Maureen? One day you're in school, the next day you're gone forever."

She got real serious.  
"Beauty school."  
"Beauty school? That's good. That's real good. I hear beauticians make a nice living."  
"Ha, I'm sure they do." Maureen snorted. "Too bad I can't get a job as one. No salon will hire me. 'We're sorry, but we can't take you on, Ms. Hawley. It's just...we fear that we might lose customers. People here don't always trust women of your...background.' That's what all of 'em say. It burns me up sometimes, you know? It don't feel so good, Darrel."

It made me feel some kind of awful hearing her say that.

"What'd you do when they said that?"  
"Spit in their shampoo bottles when they weren't looking."

I couldn't help laughing, and neither could she. It felt good. It'd been a while since I had really laughed.

"Is that my big brother Darry smiling over there? It can't be Darry! My Darry never laughs."

I glanced over to see a grinning Sodapop walking towards me, Ponyboy close on his heels. I smiled back at him, waving him over to where I was standing with Maureen.

"Darry, who's your, uh, your...lady friend?" Pony asked, trying to stifle a laugh.  
"This is Maureen." I rolled my eyes, mussing his hair. Was it that rare that I spent time with a woman that my kid brother was amused to see me doing just that? "We went to high school together."

"Shoot, I knew I recognized you!" Soda interjected suddenly, grabbing Maureen's hand. "How've you been, Miss Hawley? It's been a long time since I saw you last. How come you never come see me down at the DX, darlin'?"  
She laughed, but became serious shortly after. "Soda, why'd you drop out of school? You had potential. You're a bright boy...well, you've grown into more of a man these days now, haven't you?" Her smile returned. "Look at that handsome face."

Sodapop glanced down at his shoes, digging the toes into the hard earth. "I ain't that bright, Maureen. 'Sides, I needed to help Darry with the bills. But I work the counter at the DX most of the time, and all of your math help really...helps, y'know?" He smiled brightly at her, and she laughed again.

The amount of interest Maureen took on my brother suddenly became apparent to me, and I quickly put two and two together, regarding what they were saying now.

"Maureen, you used to tutor my kid brother?"  
She nodded. Soda laughed. "Maureen's the smartest girl in the neighborhood, Darry! Who else would I have gone to?"  
"Where'd you get the money to pay her?"

Maureen quickly waved my comment away. "He didn't, but I didn't want him to. I just wanted to help him out."

She said it so firmly that I knew she wasn't going to say any more about it, so I bit back whatever frustration I was feeling towards Soda for hiding this from me. But, this raised even more questions in my mind. If Sodapop hadn't ever told me, had he mentioned his being tutored to Mom and Dad?

I was beginning to wonder what else I didn't know about Maureen Hawley, and even more so my kid brother.


	2. Chapter 2

The four of us made aimless conversation long after the other mourners had left. I was beginning to feel hungry, and I think I heard someone else's stomach growl. It was getting late, and the boys and I had skipped lunch.

"Maureen, you uh...you wanna have dinner with us?" I suggested, though I don't know what I was thinking. She and I were never friends...more like enemies than anything. We clashed over everything back when we were in school.

To my surprise, she smiled.  
"I'd love to. How about I change outta this ugly ol' thing and I'll treat you boys to burgers up at Shirley's?"

My brothers grinned and quickly took her up on the offer, but I stayed silent. My mind was no longer in the graveyard. It was in a booth at Shirley's diner three years ago on prom night, staring at the girl in the pale-yellow dress with the fawn-brown hair.

* * *

"That Maureen Hawley over there?"

"I think so."

My eyes followed Lesley Frye's gaze over to the counter where a girl sat in solitude, barely sipping at a chocolate milkshake. I glanced back at Lesley's dish of vanilla ice cream. She didn't like chocolate.

"What's she so upset about?" I wondered aloud, not expecting Lesley to reply.  
"Well, you know she's been seein' Tom Swain. You know him. The quarterback, I know you know him." She paused to spoon ice cream into her mouth. "He dumped her at the dance, didn't even buy her a corsage. Found out she was a greaser and called the whole thing off. Said he didn't need to associate himself with the likes of her. Would you have figured the girl's that kind? Greaser, I mean."  
"'That kind', huh?" I mumbled. "Is that what Maureen Hawley and I are, Les? _'That kind'?_Look, Lesley. I don't like the term 'greaser' too much, but I sure prefer it to 'that kind'." The words tasted more and more bitter each time I repeated them.

Lesley blushed, embarrassed.  
"I didn't mean it like that, Darrel."

I gripped the seat of the booth. "I know exactly how you meant it, Lesley, and I know it embarrasses you that I'm not rich like all them Socs on the football team. I'm poorer than dirt and you can't stand it."  
"Darrel Curtis, don't you dare talk to me like that." She replied in a low voice, dropping her spoon down on the table and giving me a dangerous look.  
"I'm gonna talk to you however I want, sweetheart. I am absolutely sick and tired of the way you treat me. Buy your own ice cream, rich girl. My parents work too hard for me to waste money on a girl like you."

I stood and slipped out of the booth, my head pounding. Lesley was my girlfriend, and we were in love, even if I couldn't afford a class ring to give her like my friends did with their girls. Why did my social status matter so much to her now? If she loved me, shouldn't that be the least of her concerns?

"Darrel Shaynne Curtis, if you do not come back here and take me home right this instant, I'll -"

I shook my head before heading for the door.  
"Get one of your Soc buddies to take you home, Lesley."

That felt good. That really felt good.

But, as I left the diner and made my way to the car, I could feel those doe-eyes staring me down the entire time.

* * *

By the time I had brought myself back to reality, Maureen, Soda, and Pony were nearly out of the graveyard. I ran to catch up to them, apologizing for drifting off like that. It had been years since I had thought about the night of my junior prom, but I still remembered the look on Maureen's face that evening like it had just happened yesterday.

I didn't tell her that I had been thinking about that night.

I felt...ashamed all of a sudden.

Ashamed because I had reacted the wrong way.

Even if it was right for me to end things with Lesley, I should've gone back.

I shouldn'tve left Maureen there.

The walk to Maureen's house was quick. She slipped in to change clothes without inviting us in. I was puzzled, but I didn't ask her why. She came out shortly afterwards, dressed in well-worn jeans and a shirt that I knew was Dally's. Maureen looked sad for a moment, but flashed me a smile when I started to look concerned.

I offered to drive the four of us in my car, but Maureen wanted to walk. She thought it was a nice night out.

I had to agree.

I stayed silent the whole way there, listening to the wild stories that she and Soda wove for Ponyboy about the times they shared together. More and more questions whizzed 'round and 'round through my head, but I kept quiet. I knew she'd never answer any of them, especially in front of my brother.

When we made it to Shirley's, a waitress seated us in the same booth that I left Lesley Frye in three years ago. Maureen didn't even seem like she had noticed that it was the same spot.

She just smiled cheerily and ordered cokes for the four of us.


	3. Chapter 3

"You want me to walk you home?"  
"Oh, it's fine...I can go by myself. I'm sure you've got work early in the morning. I don't want to be the cause of you getting to bed late."  
"It's really no trouble, your house is only a couple of streets over. I just don't think it's safe for a girl to be out and about in this neighborhood alone this late at night."  
"You're probably right."

Maureen stepped off of the porch and I followed suit, moving ahead of her to open the gate. She rubbed her arms. It was getting colder.

Neither one of us talked as we slowly made our way through the empty roads. I had so many things I wanted to ask her, but she didn't seem to be in the mood to make conversation, and I wasn't in the mood to try and force answers out of her. The silence was very tense and I longed to break it, but the only way for me to break it would be to start questioning her. I couldn't just make aimless conversation; she and I had nothing in common. The walk seemed to drag on and become more and more miserable the longer we kept quiet. I was nearly sweating, it was making me so nervous.

We reached Maureen's front porch after what seemed like agonizing hours. All of the lights were off. No cars stood in the driveway. The house looked very lonely and very empty.

I cleared my throat, finally finding a way to end a little of the tension by making small talk.  
"Robbie isn't home?"

She looked away from me quickly, but then sat on the steps of the porch and beckoned me to sit next to her.

"I thought you knew."  
"Knew what?"  
"About my brother."

I stared at her for the longest time, waiting for her to continue. Whatever it was that she had to say, she seemed to be having a rough time saying it. She fidgeted, uttered a few frustrated sounds. But after a few minutes, she took a measured breath and swallowed hard, looking at me again and holding my gaze.

"Robbie died. Three years ago."

Now _I_was the one making distressed noises. Robbie Hawley, head of the football team in 1960. Robbie Hawley, four years my senior and one of the most bright, vital men I'd ever met. Robbie Hawley, one of the greatest mentors I'd ever had.

Robbie Hawley, dead at the age of 21.

* * *

"Darry, what're your plans for the future?"

"The future? Robbie, I'm 14 years old. Ain't it kinda early for me to be thinking about the future?"  
"It is _never_too early to start thinking about the future, kiddo."

I chuckled and shook my head, grinning at my older friend. He smiled back, but his eyes were even and serious.

"Darry, I mean it. Have you thought at all about your future?"  
"Yeah.."  
"The truth, Darry."

I found myself laughing again, falling back into the freshly-mown grass of the football field, breathing in it's scent and probably staining my jersey. Robbie only eyed me intently, sighing with a bit of exasperation. He stared and stared with those big, brown eyes of his. Eyes that seemed so soft and out of place on Robbie's rugged face.

"I haven't thought about it."  
"You should."

I felt exasperated by this point myself. Grumbling, I sat back up to face Robbie properly. There were grass stains on my arms, too.

"Darry, don't be so stubborn. Just listen to me, okay?"  
"I'm listening."  
He placed one of his big, calloused hands on my shoulder. "Darry, you're a smart kid. I know you think all you've got going for you is your athletic ability, but you're smart. Really smart. I see you going to college."

I was beaming up until he mentioned college.  
"I'll never be able to afford college."

"That's why I want to give you this." He said, reaching into his pocket and producing a wad of cash. "I want you to use this as a base for your college fund. I want you to use this and go to college and get outta this little town. See the world. You're gonna go places someday, Darry. You're gonna go places someday."

* * *

"Robbie's...Robbie's dead?"

All Maureen could do was nod.

"How?"

Her pause this time was even longer, long enough to make me think that she was just going to call it a night and send me home. But she didn't. She squared her shoulders and sucked another deep breath in.

"Robbie always wanted to get out of here. Always wanted to go to New York. Y'know, bright lights, big city. Nothin' like Tulsa. But Rob...he worried about me constantly and refused to make the trip before I finished school. But when I told him I was dropping out to become a beautician, he felt that that was as good a time as ever to hit the road. And he did."

She gulped before continuing.

"Robbie went to live with my aunt, Dally's mom. And things were great. He was so happy to finally be out of this little town. But the gang activity in the Big Apple..it's horrible. Absolutely terrible. Bad things happen daily. And one of the innocent victims of those bad things was my brother. He was shot. My aunt buried him in New York. I've never seen his grave. Don't have the money to fly out there."

I stood and turned away from her, feeling tears pool in the wells of my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Maureen."

"It ain't your fault."

Without another word, she quietly went into her house. I began to make my way home, trying as hard as I could to keep these stinging tears at bay.


	4. Chapter 4

"Darry, you gonna drink any of that?"

I stared down at the perspiring glass bottle before me and shook my head before sliding it down the crude wood of the bar towards Harry. It was cold. I liked the way it felt in my hand for that brief moment.

"I don't drink." I replied quietly, tracing my finger around the little ring of water left on the bar by the chilly beer.  
"Of course he doesn't drink." Dan came up behind me and clapped me on the back with one of his huge hands. "Kid's nuts about his health. Ain't that right, Darry?"  
A drunken laugh escaped Jimmy's lips after hearing that. I managed a smile.

It'd been a week and a half since I'd had that run-in with Maureen. The days that followed our meeting were hazy.

I was numb.

This was apparent to even the most thickheaded of the boys that I worked with, and they sympathetically invited me to go out drinking with them. It helps them "blow off steam" when they're not feeling so hot, they told me. How anyone could do that in a bar was beyond me. The smokey space was small and crowded. An unseen jukebox blared jarring music and it felt like everyone was shouting. My head was starting to swim and I had yet to even raise a glass to my lips.

"Maybe if we get him somethin' a little harder, he'll take a hit." Ed suggested, beckoning the bartender over.

Before I could object, what I assumed was whiskey from the color of it, was placed before me.

"C'mon, Dar." Harry pleaded. "Just one hit. That's all."

I gulped and took a deep breath, eyeing the glass uneasily before taking a swig.

The amber liquid burned.

* * *

"Darry, is that you?"

The room was spinning and it just wouldn't stop. I gripped the toilet bowl.

"Oh, man. You look horrible. Are you okay?"

"N..n-n-n-"

That was all I could get out of my mouth before I found myself hunched over the toilet, vomiting and coughing violently. Sheets of cold sweat were pouring down my body. My knuckles were as white as the porcelain of the bowl.

This went on for what felt like forever until I finally finished up. Strong hands pulled me away from the toilet and propped me up against the wall. I was still queasy and the room was too bright.

"What on earth did you do to yourself, kid?"

My head weighed a hundred pounds and I couldn't look up to see who was talking to me, but my ears stopped ringing long enough for me to recognize the voice as being Robbie's.

Despite the fact that my brain was going a million miles an hour and my stomach continued to threaten to purge it's contents once again, I still managed to feel ashamed in front of him. I could tell that he was disappointed in me.

"Who were you drinking with?"  
"Tom and Paul and Will and -"

And I was throwing up once more. Robbie sighed, patting me heartily on the back and squeezing my shoulder.

"You," he said in his usual matter-of-fact tone, "are pretty stupid for doing that. But you're 14. You're kids. You'll learn. You learned from this, right, Dar?"

I didn't say anything.

"Right, Dar?"

This time I nodded, and Robbie pulled me to my feet. I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, which was freezing and drenched in sweat. The room was standing still now, but I think it might've been getting smaller.

"That's what I like to hear." He threw a warm arm across my shoulders and led me out of the bathroom.

"Please don't tell my family about this."

"Don't do this ever again, and I won't."


	5. Chapter 5

"My, my. Aren't you home awfully late?"

Soda was sprawled out across the couch, grinning at me and clutching our phone in his hand. He held up one finger to silence me for a moment before bringing the receiver back to his mouth.

"Yes, ma'am. That's him alright. Do you wanna talk to him? Alright, darlin'. You take care, now."  
I sighed, massaging my temples. "That's Maureen, isn't it?"  
"You guessed it."

Begrudgingly, I took a deep breath and took the phone out of Soda's hands, attempting to make my way to my father's armchair before the cord restricted me. I groaned and sank down out to the floor.  
"Hello?"  
"Hi, Darry. It's Maureen." She sounded a little brighter. More healthy.  
"I know."

Soda nudged me with his foot as he went off to his bedroom. "Be nice to her."

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry. Soda already told me it was you...that's what I was trying to say."  
"It's okay. I wasn't offended...your little brother takes me for being much more sensitive than I am." I could hear the smile in her voice over the phone. "Listen, Darry. I called your house in the first place because I wanted to talk to you."  
"Well, I gotta start dinner for my brothers soon. And probably Two-Bit and Steve, knowing their bad habit of refusing what their mothers put in front of them because they just assume that I'm gonna cook for 'em forever. So, that only gives me a few minutes."  
Maureen uttered a tiny laugh. "Alright, well, I promise not to keep you too long. All I really called to do was ask you if you'd like to go out for a drink with me sometime. Have a little chat."  
"I don't drink."  
"I meant coffee."  
I felt sort of stupid after she said that. "Oh."  
"So coffee, or no coffee?"  
"Sure, sure. We can go out for coffee."  
"Sunday?"  
"Sunday is good."  
She laughed again, though I don't know why. "Okay. I know this little hole-in-the-wall diner on the Ribbon that I used to work in that makes the best cup in Oklahoma...and, speaking of work, my shift starts in ten minutes. I'll have to let you go."  
"I'll see you later, Maureen."  
"You have a nice night, Darrel."

The line went dead and I put the phone down, shaking my head. Coffee with Maureen Hawley.

* * *

"Where's Tom today?"

Robbie emitted that hearty chuckle of his. "I would imagine that he's lying in bed, taking Asprin and holding a bag of ice to his forehead."  
"Why? What happened to him?"  
Robbie's round, brown eyes hardened as he very suddenly became serious. "He broke my baby sister's heart, Darry. You think I'm just gonna let him get away with making her cry? No, I don't think so, man. He hurt her real bad, and I won't tolerate that."

It now made sense to me why so few boys asked Maureen out on dates. Robbie made her untouchable. It wasn't her personality, though at times, her cynicism was off-putting. It wasn't that her figure was far from voluptuous. It was her big brother, who was willing to go after any boy who had the audacity to hurt his younger sister's feelings.

"Did you really beat him up?"  
"Momma left us when I was ten, and Daddy's never sober enough to know what his name is anymore. Someone's gotta protect little Maureen with that fiery mouth 'a her's and that delicate heart she's got. Looks like I'm the only one left to do it."

Robbie's intensity struck enough fear in me that I silently vowed to never so much as have a coffee with Maureen Hawley.

* * *

"Darry's got a daaa-aaate."

I backhanded Ponyboy's shoulder before reaching into a cabinet to grab a few plates for dinner. "Grow up, will you?"  
Sodapop snickered. "Darry and Maureen sittin' in a tree -"  
This got even more of a rise out of Pony. "- K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"You two keep this up and you'll be goin' to bed with no dinner."


End file.
